An exclusive interview with Warren Bartram: A promising new star in Hollywood

It's always a pleasure to be given the opportunity to meet a rising star on the Hollywood scene. I recently had the chance to interview relative newcomer Warren Bartram. Bartram was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He and his family later relocated to Bowling Green, Kentucky. The oldest of five children, Warren was bitten by the acting bug at the age of seven when Raiders of the Lost Ark drew him in. The movie inspired him and soon he began to entertain the family on long car trips by memorizing and reenacting entire movies such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Bartram recently left his home in Bowling Green, Kentucky and moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. He soon secured a role in "The Crazy Ones" and, most recently, snagged the role of 70's mobster Vince Bianchi in ABC's "Castle."

If Warren's IMDB entry is any indication, he's on the road to becoming a major player in Hollywood. He's listed to appear in titles such as My Name is Vivienne, The Jersey Boys (directed by Clint Eastwood,) Guardian Angel, and Entourage.

It was a pleasure to speak with Warren.

The following is a transcript of our interview.

Q. Growing up, what were some of your greatest influences?

A. Michael Jordan has always been one of my biggest inspirations that I've tried to apply to all areas of my life.

Q. What is something that you know now that you wish you had known when you first started out as an actor?

A. That you can't take the rejection personally. They are so many variables beyond your control. You could get the role because you remind the director of his brother-in-law...You could not get the role because you remind the director of his brother-in-law. There's just no rhyme or reason to this business.

Q. What rituals do you have, if any, that you perform prior to going onstage?

A. I do what's referred to as the "active rest" which is an exercise from the Alexander Technique.

Q. In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception that people have regarding actors and acting?

A. That all you have to worry about is memorizing your lines. As Meisner said, "An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words."

Q. Do you have any advice for actors who are just starting out?

A. I've only been in Los Angeles 10 months, so I feel like I'm still starting out myself but if I could make any recommendation at all is to just trust yourself and go for it.

Q. What was the best advice you were given?

A. That you have to give it everything you've got every time...care, but don't care.

Q. Do male actors feel as much pressure from the industry to be a particular body type as their female counterparts do?

A. In my opinion, no. I think everybody feels that kind of pressure to some extent but not nearly to the degree that actresses are subject to.

Q. What is the weirdest thing that you’ve experienced while on set?

A. I don't know about weirdest but the most surreal experience on set was when we were filming a scene that required a significant amount of staged interaction between a cat and a very famous actress who will remain nameless. She was delivering the goods and the cat wasn't, understandably her frustration was mounting. After a few more failed takes she completely lost her temper and went off on the entire crew in a profanity-laced tirade before storming off set. I saw how negatively it affected the spirits of the cast and crew...it was a great example of how not to behave.

Q. What director(s) would you like to work with?

A. These kind of questions are difficult for me to answer because there are so many amazing artists that I admire and would love to work with but if I had to name just a few...Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron.

A. I'm excited to see what opportunities come up next, but right now my main focus is to complete my training at the Joanne Baron/DW Brown Studio where I'm extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to study the Meisner Technique under the brilliant DW Brown.